Singapore:Â US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un concluded an extraordinary summit on Tuesday with lofty promises by the American president to take care of a “very dangerous problem” and Kim forecasting “major change for the world.” They signed a document that Trump described as “pretty comprehensive,” but he declined to describe it, saying the details would be revealed later. The document signing followed a series of meetings at a luxury Singapore resort.
Meeting with staged ceremony on a Singapore Island Trump and Kim came together for a summit that seemed just unthinkable months ago, clasping hands in front of a row of alternating US and North Korean flags, holding a one-on-one meeting, additional talks with advisers and a Working lunch.
Throughout the summit that could chart the course for historic peace or raise the specter of a growing nuclear threat, both leaders expressed optimism. Kim called the sit-down a “good prelude for peace” and Trump pledged that “working together we will get it taken care of.
In advance of their private session, Trump predicted “tremendous success” while Kim said through an interpreter that “we have come here after overcoming” obstacles.
Aware that the eyes of the world were on a moment many people never expected to see, Kim said many of those watching would think it was a scene from a “science fiction movie.”
In the run-up to the meeting, Trump had predicted the two men might strike a nuclear deal or forge a formal end to the Korean War in the course of a single meeting or over several days. But in the hours before the summit, the White House unexpectedly announced Trump would depart Singapore earlier than expected — Tuesday evening — raising questions about whether his aspirations for an ambitious outcome had been scaled back. (Courtesy: Associated Press)
